After all that excitement, I was kept busy finalizing my little girl’s birthday bash. This year, we found Haley having such a great time with her little friends that it made it all worth it for me.

I finally got some breather in the following weekend during my little family getaway to Perhentian Island. Some great diving, spending time with my family and some good friends by the beautiful cove of Bubbles Dive Center. Good times!

March has been a month of illness to the household too. Everyone fell ill with flu or cough or a combination of other things throughout the month. Those are some stubborn bugs, I tell you! I am still recovering from my cough and Haley is still fighting her flu & cough at the moment. But good thing is she’s been happy & active all the time which made it less stressful to us.

Anyway, the entire craziness of the month is subsiding now but it’s not over yet. So, this blog post is going to be a short one. I am just very excited to share with everyone here on a project which took me (and my wonderful team of friends & families) almost a year to complete it.

Here I present Asther Lau Photography’s feature video. Hope you like it.

Special thanks to:
Eddie Lee’s Moving Pictures for the creation of this awesome video.

Habgood Music for the beautiful background music!

Hope you like it. Thank you so much for your continuous support to bring ALP to where we are now.

Oh! Recently we received an email from Frugal Dad informing us that ALP’s website has been selected as part of their latest Top Parenting Blogs list. How cool is that!

I hope April will be a more relax month for me so I can get more time to share with you more beautiful sessions I’ve had had in the recent months. For now, have a wonderful April ahead and watch out for ALP’s monthly giveaway game on our Facebook Page!

Cheerios!
Asther

I’ve been ill just a few days back. So ill that the doctor decided to admit me into the hospital ward for treatment & observation. While I was in pain & misery early that morning, only 2 major thoughts came to mind. Haley & my clients. Boy oh Boy, was I in a mess! Who’s going to take care of them if I’m like this?

Honestly, I was partially afraid for my life that day. My heart was beating so hard so fast, that doctors were worried about my thyroid situation. I was praying so hard that I do not get a heart attack that day. It was so scary… an event which has left me lots to ponder about… again.

This year has me struggling in keeping a balance between my personal life & my business. I was at the verge of burning out. I was working so hard to achieve so many goals, that I forgot to take a step back & give enough time to myself. Every time I wanted to do that, I started feeling guilty about it. I started telling myself the “Me Time” can wait. Lots more important stuffs need to be done first. And thus, I got caught into a whirlpool of family responsibilities, making sure every one is happy, making sure our monthly income is flowing in steadily, chasing after deadlines & deadlines of editing, and endless other things. I forgot about ME. And that affected my creative self, my self esteem, my happy self. I let a certain people bully me & take advantage of me. And that almost killed my passion & my business.

Lucky thing is that I realized about it before it’s too late. I decided to take a real break. I took the courage to have my first solo trip away from home. The wonderful times with my dear friends Laura & Pau Ling are still fresh in my mind. I got to have some time alone & explore Melbourne all by myself. Don’t get me wrong, I love being in a company of people. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a social butterfly. But there’s this special good feeling once a while being alone, especially when traveling in a foreign place. I guess I get the chance to think and not think at the same time. It’s just ME time. And it did wonders. I came back refreshed & strong again.

Laura took time off from work & flew down to Brisbane from Sydney to be with me. She took me around town & even brought me back to her beautiful parent's home. This is her goofing around in the house.

Such fun refreshing time in Melbourne with little Meagan. Mummy Pau Ling is one of my besties. I miss our times chit chatting in bed at night about everything under the stars.

During my exploration of Melbourne city, I visited the beautiful St. Patrick's Cathedral where I offered a prayer for my late father. I did some private reflection here to find some peace in my heart & soul. And found them I did.

I made new resolutions that includes more of ME this time. My health is one major issue I need to keep in check. My family is another, especially my relationship with dear hubby who’s been much ‘neglected’ since we both became parents. And I was so caught up in building up this photography business while juggling with motherhood & keeping the household in order that I just didn’t have much time for anything else. But I want to change all that. And change has been happening. Slowly but surely. And so far, I think I’m doing quite okay.

Our own version of Winter Sonata at Nami Island, Korea. Hehehe...

My beautiful Haley... my everything.

All these changes will not have been easy if not for the amazing amount of support I have been getting from my dearest friends & clients. For trying to understand that I need this time to re-prioritize. For understanding that I am a mother, a wife and a daughter as well. Most importantly, I’m a person with feelings & needs too. And for that, I want to thank my current & past clients who have been so supportive to me. Your little words of encouragements, your short sms-es & messages to see how I was doing, your small little gifts of food & little pretty things. All these I treasure close to my heart.

My business have finally grown enough this year to let me afford help & I’m really happy to welcome my dear friend Su as well as a new found friend, Kevin, into ALP’s little family. We aim & hope to make more happy hearts amongst our clients so praying that our team still stay strong & bonded in order to do just that. To make more happy memories & more happy hearts.

This little slideshow is dedicated to our 2011 clients. Thank you for your unconditional supports! Thank you for taking my hands & walk through this beautiful journey of photography with me. Love you!

A remembrance of 2011.

Here’s to a better 2012 for everyone the world around.

xoxo,
Asther

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Now back to last night…

After the hubby read Haley her usual bedtime stories, I switched off my work station and went to bed with them. Haley & I decided to sing. From “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”, “The Alphabet Song”, “Baa Baa Black Sheep” to many more, we sang happily together in the dark. Giggling & clapping in between songs. We were happy… I felt very blissful. And we finally fell asleep with melodies in our dreams.

Waking up this morning, I opened my eyes to a little smiling face. Haley crawled from her bed corner to mine & started snuggling with me. She softly wishes me a good morning and her sweet little voice calling me “Mommy” just made my day. I’m happy. I’ll worry about all the other stuffs later. For now, I just want to soak in my happiness. I am thankful for being blessed.

My little girl who always makes me happy.

I’m currently juggling between work & motherhood without any help at the moment. My mum’s gone back to our hometown and my trusty PA is on her own family breakaway. So work will have to slow down a little and I hope my beloved clients will give me a little bit more time to settle them one by one.

Hoping to write a year end blog post before 2012 comes, but if I couldn’t, here’s wishing everyone a Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year!

Hugs,

Asther

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… with a SPLASH!

As you’re reading this post, darling hubby & I are on a live-on-board dive cruise somewhere in Savu Sea, enjoying one of the many things that we love to do together that is scuba diving. We’ve been dreaming of exploring the underwater world around Komodo National Park for many many years and finally we can tick this off our bucket list! For the first time ever, we left Haley behind (in the care of my own mother) so that we can use this opportunity to be together & do some reflections on our life together.

Fourth year into a marriage life is still considered “young” by many, but to us, it’s one more year of achieving several new milestones together! As husband & wife, and as parents to our beautiful Haley. We started dating back in 2003, going through both highs & lows in our lives together. Living together & apart due to the nature of my previous career as a scuba diving instructress but managed to keep our relationship going although at times we almost call it quits. We’ve never really talked about getting married to each other. I guess it was due to the uncertainty of what we want in life as an individual and as a couple.

But one fine day we did! We got married! A simple, “Darling, I want to get married. To you…” with an even simpler reply, “Aaaarrr…” marked the beginning of the next stage in our life together. And when Haley came into our life, we feel almost complete.

Photo courtesy of Grace Tan (2011)

Here’s an excerpt from an article I read recently which reminds me once again about how important it is to take time off from everything else & focus on just the two of us.

Gal Baras wrote:

“I bet your mind just filled with thoughts of “the children”, “my work commitments”, “that project I have to finish”, “how hard it is to get a babysitter nowadays” and various other seemingly-appropriate reasons for your romantic situation being what it is and why you should not be feeling too horrible about it. Besides, is this not what everyone experiences when they turn from a couple into parents?

Yes, they do, and yes, they all feel just as horrible as you do about it, but does that make it better?

Nope.”

Read more…

Hence, the reason why I took the courage to book this trip for our wedding anniversary celebration this year. This means both of us have to leave our precious little girl behind for so many days. I’m not sure how I’d fare by the time this post is published but I do know that both hubby & I need this “break” together. Our journey is an on-going one… and this is one journey I’m willing to walk through for a very long long time. Pray that God will bless our journey together & let it be filled with more love, happiness & adventures.

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My Two Babies!

Happy Birthday, my husband, my soulmate, my buddy, my love, my guide, my pillar of strength, my hero. Wokay… too much to write already! But you know I Love You, right?! Let’s celebrate many more birthdays together, okay? *muaks*

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Yesterday, I was out chauffeuring & spending time with mum & some very close family friends who came to visit from Kuching. These are friends whom we’ve known since I was still a little girl. Friends who’ve been there during the happy & sad times in our family. We enjoyed ourselves, shopping & eating & chit-chatting. Sometimes we talked about the old times, and daddy was in the conversation. But not once did we remember that it was daddy’s 4th year of passing. And I guess we were just thinking of happy stuffs about him, with him. And I truly believe that means a lot more than anything else at this stage.

I miss you, daddy. Oh I will be until the Lord brings us together again. I Love You Forever, Daddy.

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I’ve got as much energy as a sloth at the moment, so won’t be writing too much. Just want to share a photo I took of her recently in her first tutus I bought her. I hope she’ll love me the same after all that punishment and scolding I gave her just now. Cos she means the world to me.

Cos she is my Love...

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Come July, it’ll be 4 years since daddy left. He’s played a major part in my photography journey. He’s the one who gave me my very first DSLR in 2004 for my birthday. He’s the one who kept advising me to start my own business. “Don’t work for people if you can.” he always said. And so when I got pregnant, I realized I can no longer continue my freelance job as a scuba instructress. I was in a crossroad. I wasn’t sure what I should do in terms of my future career choice. I looked at what resources I had at that time. His advice kept ringing in my head. Every time I look at my camera, I remember my happy & important times with him. And every time that happens, a tiny tinge of regret will come along. I am still regretting that we do not have many photos taken together. Especially the years after I returned from Hawaii. Dad & I had a huge fight right before I left for my studies, and we were not in talking term for quite a long time. However, I’m thankful that we managed to re-kindle our father-daughter bond. We started spending a lot of time together whenever I went home for a visit, or whenever he comes to West Malaysia to visit me. We talked a lot more over the phone, and every time before we hang up, he’ll say “Take Charge, girl. Daddy loves you.”

And finally, I took the courage to start building my photography business with what he had provided me. I decided to Take Charge. It wasn’t an easy journey for me. Cos I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t have a business plan. I didn’t know the industry at all. It took me a lot of trials & error to find my way. But I love every minute of it. Cos of the challenges that taught me so much. Cos of the exhilarating achievement whenever I reached a goal. In most ways, I am like my father. He’s the one who taught me never to give up. He’s the one who told me that life is a journey to many roads. Travel well, travel with a heart, travel with determination and gain as much wisdom along the way.

So today, I’d like to thank my father. For without him, I won’t be who I am. For without him, I won’t be where I am. Thank you, Daddy………

I would also like to thank my darling husband, for being such a great daddy to our little Haley. For making her the happiest little girl in the world with his hugs & kisses and precious times spent. She is growing up so fast and taking after you in a lot of ways. The way she loves anything related to cars, the way she likes snacking on nuts like you, the way she’s beginning to sit/lounge like you on the sofa (OH NO!). You can see how much she needs you and enjoys playing with you, learning from you. It’s tiring to keep up with her, but it’s all worth it right?

Here are a few precious photos I took of our little girl for you on this Father’s Day.

Love that tie!

Daddy's shoes are so big!

In daddy's work uniform.

To ALL FATHERS out there,

Big and Tall
Large and small
Fathers everywhere
Who love and care.

On Father’s Day
Remember to say,
“I love you so”
I hope you know
You pass the test
You are the best.

~ Mrs Alphabet ~

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I’ve been struggling with time management, especially for my work these past few weeks. The amount of backlog is piling up beyond controllable state, and I’m drowning. Clients are waiting for their images to be edited & delivered, whilst I had to peel myself away from my working hours to deal with the said unexpected situations. I had to pull extra hours after midnight so I can get some work done which pretty much made me a zombie after a few days.

Well… things are starting to settle again, although not everything yet. As I’m typing this, my girl’s in the bedroom sleeping with a mild fever AGAIN. Just few days after she recovered from her cough & flu. I’m dumbfounded. What have I done wrong? She’s been sick 1 week, well 1 week, then sick another week, well just few days, then sick again???

Then I realized this IS the life of a mother who loves her child so much so that she’d do anything for her child. As I also realized I’ve not updated this blog for such a long time, I thought to myself, it’s time to just post something which is close to heart. Motherhood.

In the midst of all that had happened, I’ve forgotten my plan to post a Mother’s Day post! Then I told myself, Motherhood should be celebrated on a daily basis. Cos a mother’s job does not have a schedule. So here’s wishing all mothers (and mothers-to-be) a Blessed Mother’s Day 2011. Everyday…

We as mothers will continue to be strong, tirelessly juggling between everything that is important in our lives, in our child’s life, in our family’s life. I’m lucky I have a strong network of mommy friends who are always there to support me, mostly emotionally. Even a short message of “Be Strong” or “You can do it!” or “Hugs” does an amazing effect of bringing back all the determination, strength & strong will to continue our battle in mommy-land. So I thank you, my friends. You know who you are… without you, I would probably have gone insane.

Here are two photos I’ve taken during our recent Mother’s Day Mini Session. Both families belong to two of my dear supportive friends. The designs of these Mother’s Day e-card were complimentary from The Coffee Shop Blog.

I’ll be on a solo trip to Australia next week, attending a baby posing workshop, as well as take some time off for my personal time. This will be my first, being away from my girl for more than a day. Not too sure how I’d fare, but I pray God will guide the way. Please please keep my baby safe, from any illness, any danger, both physical & mental. Oh I know I’m going to miss her like crazy. But I guess this is what I need to do for myself.

I may not be able to check my emails or do much work while I’m away, but am hoping to finish up a huge amount of work before I leave. Please pray that my Haley’s fever will be gone by morning, so I can continue my concentration on carrying on this work task.

Will try to update this blog again as soon I can. Maybe with some travel pics. I’ve got so many baby & pregnancy & family sessions to share here but I doubt I’d be able to do all, so if you’d like to see my latest work, check out my galleries or head on over to my Facebook Page for more frequent updates.

Till then, take good care & have a blessed May month!

xoxo

Asther

“Two is a company, but THREE is a PARTY!”

It’s March again and we do love March! Cos it’s our birthday month (Little Haley & I shares the same birthday) and this year, we’re throwing a big party for Little Haley. We’re so busy planning & preparing for the happy day and things are starting to unfold excitingly. With lots of candies and CHOCOLATES, balloons and colorful fabrics, delicious cakes & desserts and fun-filled activities of magic shows, puppet show and swimming pool splash!

Don’t worry if you don’t get to come to our party, cos here’s an early birthday treat from us to you.

Template courtesy of The CoffeeShop Blog.

Hurry & write in to us soon. This birthday giveaway is only valid for bookings confirmed in this month of March 2011 (invoice dated March 2011). You can book for your sessions anytime in 2011 and it doesn’t need to be taken place in March only. Our calendar is pretty filled up til May 2011 (with only very limited days left) so hurry to avoid disappointment.

Please visit our favorite vendor, Storybook, at their website and Facebook Page for beautiful inspirations & pretty little things which will tickle your heart & soul.

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